Furnace carrier



y 1935- R. J. WILLIAMS 2,006,612

FURNACE CARRIER Filed Jan. 8, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 2, 1935.

R. J.- WILLIAMS 2,006,612

FURNACE CARRIER Filed Jan. 8, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J72 z/enfow Patented July 2, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFica.

signor to American Manganese Steel Company, Chicago Heights, 111., a corporation of Maine Application January 8,

2 Claims.

This invention relates to carriers mounted upon conveyors, such as chains or the like, in subhearth passageways of a heat treating furnace, and projecting through slots into the heating chamber of the furnace where they receive and serve as a vehicle for sheets or other forms of metal while in the furnace.

The slots through which the carriers project, for reasons of heat economy and protection of the conveyors in the sub-hearth passages, are of restricted transverse dimensions and this correspondingly narrows the field of design for those portions of the carriers which extend through the slots. On the other hand, the relatively soft condition of the treated goods at their highest tem peratures requires that the tread oi the carrier be horizontally extended within the chamber to multiply its points of support and prevent sagging of intermediate portions of the goods by gravity. A third condition which must be taken into account in designing carriers for the purpose stated, is the rapid impairment of the carrier due to high ranges of expansion and contraction, if its design is such as to: invite unequal stresses or stresses at points where abrupt changes in dimensions occur.

The object of the present invention is to provide carriers having materially enlarged areas of support for the heat treated material, but designed in accordance with a principle that sub-' stantially eliminates destructive stresses at high temperatures.

The invention proceeds generally upon the principle of having the carrier, and particularly its shank which projects through the hearth slot and its material-receiving head with its arm or arms providing the enlargement or enlargements within the heating chamber through which it multiplies its points of support for the goods, constructed with a transverse dimension or thickness that is either uniform throughout or varies so gradually that it is free from oiisets or abrupt changes; any changes in direction of its said shank and tread or the part connecting them together being eiiected through curves instead of angles, so that expansion and contraction in the direction of said extensions may be transmitted with an effect approximating that which would obtain if the piece were straightened into a single plane; and the structure as a whole, or at least the shank and tread portions, being such that if these parts were straightened into a plane they would be substantially in the relation of parts connected end to end in one single plate-like piece. An incidental application of this principle 1934, Serial No. 705.755

obtains where, for the sake of balancing the load upon the shank, the portion of the shank beyond the slot is deflected from the plane of the shank to meet one branch of the extended tread, and this deflected portion meets the shankand tread which it unites, through curved lines and avoids angular or abrupt changes of direction.

In the accompanying drawings, in which, several embodiments of the invention are shown by way of illustration- 7 Figure l is a plan view of one form of carrier, according to which an intermediate portion of the tread is mounted immediately over the shank, with a slight torsional deflection therefrom, and is extended in opposite horizontal directions with curvature in affording extended points of support. 1 a

Figure 2 shows one wall of a furnace slot together with a portion of a chain conveyor and two carriers mounted thereon, the form of the car riers corresponding to that shown'in Figure l.

Figure 3 is a view of parts shown in Figure 2, in a plane at right angles thereto.

Figure 4 shows a fragment of a furnace hearth constructed with a plurality of slots together with a number of carriers of the form shown in Figure 1 arranged therein in a manner toillustrate the development of an extended field of support for a sheet that is to be heat treated. I

Figures 5 and 6 are, respectively,- a plan View and a side elevation of a form of support which embodies the principle of the present invention and comprises a pair of tread branches connected by curved portions to each other and to the shank or an intermediate tread portion in vertical con tinuation of the shank so that the load is balanced thereon; Figure 6 showing in dotted lines the appearance of the tread extension if straightened from its volute form.

Figures 7, 8 and 9 are, respectively, a plan view, a side elevation and an end elevation of another design of carrier embodying the principle of the invention, in which two spaced tread members, united by a curved portion, are related to the shank portion in a manner to balance the load thereon; the shank portion being connected with one branch of the tread by a web deflected laterally to the said parts. 7

Referring to Figures 1 to F1, A represents a portion of a furnace hearth having slots B communicating with the sub-hearth space C, in which are assumed to be mounted conveyor chains such as D and through which are made to project shanks l of carriers E which are connected at their lower ends, through bolts 2 or other suiting with bolting lugs 2a, loadinglugs 2b and spacing lugs 20. Shanks I, in order to properly travel in the slots B, which are made narrow to conserve heat and protect the conveyor chains, are of fiat plate-like form, preferably with hollow central portions I a to reduce tendency to distortion under heat; but above the hearth A. the shanks may, so long as they preserve'uniform or approximatelyuniform dimension, be deflected or diverted to meet conditions encountered in developing a suitable expanse of tread 3.

'According to Figures 1 to 4, the tread comprises an intermediate portion substantially con-, tinuing the thickness of the tread but distorted from the plane thereof to any desired angle by torsional deflection of the portion of the shank beyond the hearth, and having extensions 3b connected through curved portions 30 edgewise with the intermediate portion 3a so as to largely multiply the points of support in the plane of the goods. By curving the extensions 31), they may be brought into a direction transverse, or at some other large angle, to the "direction of travel and thus enhance driving effect without introducing complications which might result from too long a dimension in the direction of travel when the carrier enters upon its swinging motion at the end of its traverse, besides making a desirable-design of tread member for the carrier when assembled in a field of support as illustrated in Figure 4.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention contemplates a furnace carrier having a shank portion and a tread portion,

with an extension or extensions multiplying the area of support; which tread portion and extension; or extensions form continuations of the shank portion withoutcmaterial change in thickness, and with the several parts related, so far as concerns expansion and contraction, practically asone continuous pieceof plate metal.

y In Figures 5 and 6, the shank portion Ix, or the vertical continuation 3r thereof, is extended at Irf by curved portion 3a" to meet one branch 3:):

of a tread portion, which in turn is united by a 2,ooe,e12 I curved portion 3x to a second branch 3x spaced on the opposite side of the central tread portion 3a: or shank Ix. Here, again, the parts, so far as concerns the effects of expansion and contraction, are one continuous piece of plate metal, without abrupt changes in either thickness or direction, and with a design that will balance the load upon the shank,

In Figures 7, 8 and 9, theshank portion ly is continued 'upwardly' and in a deflecting direction by a portion 31 to meet the branch 3y of the tread with which the deflection 3 also merges edgewise; and the branch 31,1 is connected by curved portion 31 with a second branch 3: symmetrically spaced froin the shank Iy with the branch 31/ so that the load is balanced on the shank; Here, again, the construction, with respect to expansion and contraction, will effect a single continuous piece of plate metal.

While'the preferred embodiment is that shown in Figures 1 to 4, the modified construction shown in Figures 5 and 6, and that shown in Figused 7 to 9, will serve to illustrate some other applications in which the principle of the invention may be embodied. I

What is claimed is: H g

1. A material carrier for conveyors for, heat treating furnaces, comprising a shank having meansfor securing it to a conveyor, and ahead supported by said shank, forming with said shank an integral plate-like structure and having amaterial-receiving tread surface, and an integral arm extending from thepIate like carrier, infthe plane thereof, arcuately deflectedlaterallyfrom said plane and provided with a material-receiving tread-surface which by such deflection ispresented in a positionjlaterally offset/from the receiving tread of the head and thereby adaptedto prevent saggingof treated material resting upon the head, v e g 2. A material carrier forjconveyors for heat treating furnaces, comprising a shank having means for securing it to a conveyor, a head supported by said shank and forming therewith an integral plate-like structure, 'and integralarms extending from opposite ends of theplate-like structure in the planethereofand arcu'ately defiected in opposite lateral directions from said plane; said arms being provided with materialreceiving tread surfaces which by their deflection are presented in positions spaced laterally from the shank and thereby adapted to prevent sagging of treating materialresting upon the carrier. V

' RUSSELL J. WILLIAMS. 

